A federal judge became the first to rule in favor of President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport suspected members of the Tren de Aragua street gang.
US District Judge Stephanie Haines on Tuesday ruled that the president has the authority to remove members of a foreign terrorist organization. Tren de Aragua has been given this label, meaning that the White House can remove its members under the AEA.
However, Judge Haines did argue that the administration did not provide sufficient notice to the deportees before removing them from the country.
From The Hill:
Haines, a Trump appointee, emphasized her “unflagging obligation is to apply the law as written.”
“Having done its job, the Court now leaves it to the Political Branches of the government, and ultimately to the people who elect those individuals, to decide whether the laws and those executing them continue to reflect their will,” Haines wrote in her 43-page ruling.
The new split comes as the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a wave of lawsuits across the country challenging Trump’s use of the AEA, calls on the Supreme Court to immediately take up the issue and swiftly provide a nationwide resolution.
The 1798 law enables authorities to summarily deport migrants amid an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by a foreign nation. All three times the law was invoked previously were in times of war, but Trump has looked to use it against alleged Venezuelan gang members.
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🚨 BREAKING - VICTORY: FIRST federal judge rules that Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan criminal Tren de Aragua members is LEGAL.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 13, 2025
U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines made this decision. She is a TRUMP-appointed judge. pic.twitter.com/5sBMuRzM8W
The judge stressed that she is not ruling on whether Trump can use the AEA to deport gang members, but focused only on his authority to remove members of terrorist groups. Now, the White House can deport any illegal immigrant in the Western District of Pennsylvania as long as they provide 21-days’ notice to the deportees in English and Spanish.
Haines’ ruling contradicts those of other judges who have ruled against using the AEA to deport illegals. Earlier this month, Trump-appointed US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez ruled that the White House is barred from using the act to remove illegal immigrants in his district. He argued that the White House cannot use the AEA against illegal immigrants while the nation is at peace.
The AEA, passed in 1798, grants the president the authority to deport foreigners from countries that are at war with the United States.
“The President cannot summarily declare that a foreign nation or government has threatened or perpetrated an invasion or predatory incursion of the United States,” Rodriguez wrote.
The latest ruling is the result of a lawsuit challenging the use of the law filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of three Venezuelan men who are currently being held at the El Valle Detention Center.
This is the latest in a long line of legal battles over Trump’s immigration policies.
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